Ravenous
Meaning
Extremely hungry, often to the point of being voracious or insatiable.
Origin
The word "ravenous" traces its hungry roots back to the Old French "ravineux," which meant "rapacious" or even "violent." This, in turn, sprang from the Latin "rapere," a vivid verb meaning "to seize" or "carry off." Picture, if you will, a hungry predator—perhaps a hawk snatching its prey mid-flight, or a wolf tearing into a fresh kill—driven by an intense, almost brutal, need. This powerful image of violent seizure and insatiable desire for sustenance deeply shaped the word. Over the centuries, "ravenous" transitioned from describing a creature's savage hunting instinct to capture our own intense, almost primal, human feeling of extreme hunger. It’s that deep, gnawing need that feels like it could devour anything in sight, still carrying that ancient, wild edge.
Examples
- After hiking for six hours, the explorers were absolutely ravenous and devoured everything on the picnic blanket.
- The little kitten, recently rescued, had a ravenous appetite and quickly finished its bowl of food.